Study Looks Into How Parenting Affects Teens

Tuesday, November 27th 2007, 6:57 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- An ongoing study done by the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center is examining how parenting and other factors affect the long-term behavior of teenagers. The "youth asset study" is being funded by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers are looking at how 17 "assets," including parental involvement and religion, factor into teenage behavior.

During the past five years, researchers have interviewed 2,200 Oklahoma City-area children and their parents, looking into risky behaviors and the level of parental involvement.

Principal Investigator Roy Oman, an associate professor at the OU College of Public Health, says researchers already have been able to determine assets that are effective at preventing a large array of risk behavior.

Those include family communication, a strong relationship with one's mother and parental monitoring.